ICT can be used in many different ways, and how it is introduced and used in educational settings depends largely on teachers' instructionalgoals and strategies. Changes in the goalsof education during the latter part of the twentieth century, togetherwith increases in the amount and type of available technology, has created changes in teachers' use of technology.
In the 1970s and early 1980s the primary goalof instruction was to have students memorize important information and procedures. Instruction was teacher-led and dominated by lectures, followedby practice using worksheets and short-answer tests. Students worked alone to complete assignments, and when help was needed they consulted parents, teachers, or textbooks for assistance. If computers were available in classrooms during this time period, their use mirrored this way of learning; thatis, they were mainly used to present reading texts and test students' understanding and memory for information in the readings.
Research on learning has shown the limitationsof this type of instruction. Students often forget memorized information, or they fail to use it in situations where it would be useful. They need help in connecting new information to what they already know and in extending and applying their knowledge to new problems. Researchers in the early twenty-first century believe that students learn best when they work to combine their own past experience with new information in order to solveproblemsthat are personally meaningful to them.
In additionto changes in the understanding of how students learn, there have been major changes in what educators and policymakers believe students should know how to do. The dramatic growth in information since 1950 has shifted the purpose of education. Information has become abundant and easily accessible. Rather than reading the summarized ideas presented by a textbook, students have accessto many different points of view. Instead of memorizing, students now need assistance in learning how to find and select relevantinformationfor problems they need to solve. They need to learn how to collaborate with others as they solve these problems and communicate their solutions to their teachers and to the world outside their classroom.
Along with changes in what students should know and an increased understanding of how they learn, new approaches to instruction are being advocated. Instead of listening to lectures and memorizing facts and procedures, educationalreforms suggest that students learn best in the context of solving complex, realistic problems. Students who acquire new information as they solve problems are able to understand its usefulness, remember it, and use it to solve problems in the future. Solving interesting problems is more likely to stimulate a student's interest than memorizing isolated facts, and this interest has been shown to positively affect learning. Students solving real problems view their efforts as real work and have a sense of purpose and value.
Organizing instruction around problem solving makes new demands on teachers, including locating meaningful problems and projects and providing students with the resources and guidance for solving them. Teachers are finding that ICT can help them meet these demands, and they are integrating it into their instruction in many new and exciting ways.
BIBLIOGRAPHY BECKER, HENRY JAY. 1999. Internet Use by Teachers: Conditions of Professional Use and Teacher-Directed Use. Teaching, Learning and Computing: 1998 National Survey of Schools and Teachers, Report 1. Irvine: Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations, University of California, Irvine. BIRCHARD, KAREN. 2001. "Distance Education: European Commission Adopts $13.3-Billion Plan That Is Expected to Promote Online Education." Chronicle of Higher Education April 16. BRANSFORD, JOHN D.; BROWN, ANN L.; and COCKING, RODNEY R. 1999. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. COGNITION AND TECHNOLOGY GROUP AT VANDERBILT. 1997. The Jasper Project: Lessons in Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, and Professional Development. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. DWYER, DAVID. 1994. "Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow: What We've Learned." Educational Leadership 51 (7):4â10. MEANS, BARBARA. 2000. Accountability in Preparing Teachers to Use Technology. Paper prepared for the Educational Technology Leadership Conference, Washington, DC, January 13-14. PELLEGRINO, JAMES W.; CHUDOWSKY, NAOMI; and GLASER, ROBERT, eds. 2001. Knowing What Students Know: The Science and Design of Educational Assessment. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. REIL, MARGARET. 2000. New Designs for Connected Teaching and Learning. White paper commissioned for The Secretary's Conference on Educational Technology Evaluating the Effectiveness of Technology, Washington, DC, September 11â12. REIL, MARGARET., and BECKER, HENRY JAY. 2000. The Beliefs, Practices, and Computer Use of Teacher Leaders. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. New Orleans, LA, April. SHEINGOLD, KAREN, and HADLEY, MARTHA. 1990. Accomplished Teachers: Integrating Computers into Classroom Practice. New York: Center for Technology in Education, Bank Street College. TINKER, ROBERT. 2000. Ice Machines, Steamboats, and Education: Structural Change and Educational Technologies. White paper commissioned for The Secretary's Conference on Educational Technology Evaluating the Effectiveness of Technology, Washington, DC. THORNBURG, DAVID D. 1999. Technology in Kâ12 Education: Envisioning a New Future. White paper commissioned for the Forum on Technology in Education: Envisioning the Future, Washington, DC. WHITE, BARBARA Y., and FREDERIKSEN, JOHN R. 2000. "Metacognitive Facilitation: An Approach to Making Scientific Inquiry Accessible to All." In Teaching in the Inquiry-Based Science Classroom, ed. Jim Minstrell and Emily H. van Zee. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science. INTERNET RESOURCES CHEN, MILTON. 2002. "Bugscope: Magnifying the Connection Between Students, Science, and Scientists." <http://glef.org/bugscope.html >. ELECTRONIC EMISSARY PROJECT. 2001. <http://emissary.ots.utexas.edu/emissary/ >. KIDLINK. 2002. <www.kidlink.org >. NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS. 2000. "Internet Access in U.S. Public Elementary and Secondary Schools." <http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000102 >. PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE. 2001. <http://passporttoknowledge.com/hst/ >. UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 2001. "Human Development Report 2001: Making New Technologies Work for Human Development." <www.undp.org/hdr2001/ >. UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, TACOMA 2001. "Conductivity and Temperature Study." <www.Tacoma.Washington.edu/education/intel/Projects/Morrison_photo.htm >. SUSAN M. WILLIAMS
Adapted from:
Encyclopedia of Education. (2002). Technology in education: current trends. Retrieved March 18, 2012, from Gale Opposing viewpoints in context:
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Educational_technology.aspx
Technology in Education- current trends
Susan M. Williams
ICT can be used in many different ways, and how it is introduced and used in educational settings depends largely on teachers' instructional goals and strategies. Changes in the goals of education during the latter part of the twentieth century, together with increases in the amount and type of available technology, has created changes in teachers' use of technology.
In the 1970s and early 1980s the primary goal of instruction was to have students memorize important information and procedures. Instruction was teacher-led and dominated by lectures, followed by practice using worksheets and short-answer tests. Students worked alone to complete assignments, and when help was needed they consulted parents, teachers, or textbooks for assistance. If computers were available in classrooms during this time period, their use mirrored this way of learning; that is, they were mainly used to present reading texts and test students' understanding and memory for information in the readings.
Research on learning has shown the limitations of this type of instruction. Students often forget memorized information, or they fail to use it in situations where it would be useful. They need help in connecting new information to what they already know and in extending and applying their knowledge to new problems. Researchers in the early twenty-first century believe that students learn best when they work to combine their own past experience with new information in order to solve problems that are personally meaningful to them.
In addition to changes in the understanding of how students learn, there have been major changes in what educators and policymakers believe students should know how to do. The dramatic growth in information since 1950 has shifted the purpose of education. Information has become abundant and easily accessible. Rather than reading the summarized ideas presented by a textbook, students have access to many different points of view. Instead of memorizing, students now need assistance in learning how to find and select relevant information for problems they need to solve. They need to learn how to collaborate with others as they solve these problems and communicate their solutions to their teachers and to the world outside their classroom.
Along with changes in what students should know and an increased understanding of how they learn, new approaches to instruction are being advocated. Instead of listening to lectures and memorizing facts and procedures, educational reforms suggest that students learn best in the context of solving complex, realistic problems. Students who acquire new information as they solve problems are able to understand its usefulness, remember it, and use it to solve problems in the future. Solving interesting problems is more likely to stimulate a student's interest than memorizing isolated facts, and this interest has been shown to positively affect learning. Students solving real problems view their efforts as real work and have a sense of purpose and value.
Organizing instruction around problem solving makes new demands on teachers, including locating meaningful problems and projects and providing students with the resources and guidance for solving them. Teachers are finding that ICT can help them meet these demands, and they are integrating it into their instruction in many new and exciting ways.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BECKER, HENRY JAY. 1999. Internet Use by Teachers: Conditions of Professional Use and Teacher-Directed Use. Teaching, Learning and Computing: 1998 National Survey of Schools and Teachers, Report 1. Irvine: Center for Research on Information Technology and Organizations, University of California, Irvine.
BIRCHARD, KAREN. 2001. "Distance Education: European Commission Adopts $13.3-Billion Plan That Is Expected to Promote Online Education." Chronicle of Higher Education April 16.
BRANSFORD, JOHN D.; BROWN, ANN L.; and COCKING, RODNEY R. 1999. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
COGNITION AND TECHNOLOGY GROUP AT VANDERBILT. 1997. The Jasper Project: Lessons in Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, and Professional Development. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
DWYER, DAVID. 1994. "Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow: What We've Learned." Educational Leadership 51 (7):4â10.
MEANS, BARBARA. 2000. Accountability in Preparing Teachers to Use Technology. Paper prepared for the Educational Technology Leadership Conference, Washington, DC, January 13-14.
PELLEGRINO, JAMES W.; CHUDOWSKY, NAOMI; and GLASER, ROBERT, eds. 2001. Knowing What Students Know: The Science and Design of Educational Assessment. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
REIL, MARGARET. 2000. New Designs for Connected Teaching and Learning. White paper commissioned for The Secretary's Conference on Educational Technology Evaluating the Effectiveness of Technology, Washington, DC, September 11â12.
REIL, MARGARET., and BECKER, HENRY JAY. 2000. The Beliefs, Practices, and Computer Use of Teacher Leaders. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association. New Orleans, LA, April.
SHEINGOLD, KAREN, and HADLEY, MARTHA. 1990. Accomplished Teachers: Integrating Computers into Classroom Practice. New York: Center for Technology in Education, Bank Street College.
TINKER, ROBERT. 2000. Ice Machines, Steamboats, and Education: Structural Change and Educational Technologies. White paper commissioned for The Secretary's Conference on Educational Technology Evaluating the Effectiveness of Technology, Washington, DC.
THORNBURG, DAVID D. 1999. Technology in Kâ12 Education: Envisioning a New Future. White paper commissioned for the Forum on Technology in Education: Envisioning the Future, Washington, DC.
WHITE, BARBARA Y., and FREDERIKSEN, JOHN R. 2000. "Metacognitive Facilitation: An Approach to Making Scientific Inquiry Accessible to All." In Teaching in the Inquiry-Based Science Classroom, ed. Jim Minstrell and Emily H. van Zee. Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science.
INTERNET RESOURCES
CHEN, MILTON. 2002. "Bugscope: Magnifying the Connection Between Students, Science, and Scientists." <http://glef.org/bugscope.html >.
ELECTRONIC EMISSARY PROJECT. 2001. <http://emissary.ots.utexas.edu/emissary/ >.
KIDLINK. 2002. <www.kidlink.org >.
NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS. 2000. "Internet Access in U.S. Public Elementary and Secondary Schools." <http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000102 >.
PASSPORT TO KNOWLEDGE. 2001. <http://passporttoknowledge.com/hst/ >.
UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 2001. "Human Development Report 2001: Making New Technologies Work for Human Development." <www.undp.org/hdr2001/ >.
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, TACOMA 2001. "Conductivity and Temperature Study." <www.Tacoma.Washington.edu/education/intel/Projects/Morrison_photo.htm >.
SUSAN M. WILLIAMS